Local pro hockey: New Wolves owner Weese sees ways to improve on championship team

“They came out here when they won the Cup that night,” Weese said Friday at the establishment. “They didn’t get out here until about one o’clock,” Weese said. “But we fed them, I gave each of them a $30 bar credit. I gave (goalie) Adam Beukeboom fifty because he had an awesome game, he had some good saves in that game.”

The very next day, the deal to buy the team became official as Weese, a local businessman, had purchased the franchise from Andreas Johansson, the previous majority owner, in April.

“That was when (the team) met me,” Weese said. “They had seen me in the locker room with (previous owner) Andreas (Johansson) and I think they kind of knew what was going on. And after the game (Wolves coach) Brent (Clarke) said ‘hey, we’re going to the Roxy to get some food.’ And they all came out, Everybody was here with their girlfriends, it was fun. And that’s when I met them.

“They were super pumped up, had a super good season and an awesome (final) game.”

Weese, who purchased The Roxy back in February, is a local business owner as well as a real estate investor.

“It just made sense,” Weese said of buying the team. “I’ve always loved hockey, and I’ve always been a fan and this is just a really cool way to give back to the community. It’s an advertising tool, it’s a networking tool. It’s fun, it’s enjoyable and we’re looking to make (the team) even better.”

Weese wasn’t even considering buying a hockey team until several months ago when he was approached by Curtis Mosely, a friend who is also his jiujitsu instructor, who served as the Wolves’ equipment manager this past season.

“Curtis mentioned it and he was already doing a lot of stuff for the team,” Weese said. “And that evolved into ‘hey, the team’s for sale.’ And I still thought it was far-fetched when I heard it. Just because I was like, this really isn’t my realm as far as ownership of a sports team, and I kind of laughed at Curtis when he first brought it up.”

Mosely introduced Weese to Johansson and it didn’t take long for him to be sold on the opportunity and potential of owning the Wolves.

“And meeting with Andreas and checking the numbers and everything, it kind of made sense to do it. And if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it the right way,” Weese said. “There are some opportunities as far as what we can do to make it better, what we can do to change it and make it a better fan experience.”

Weese says much of the Wolves will be returning for next season, including Clarke, who guided the team to its third league championship, as well as Mosely.

“I told Clarke and Mosely, I said ‘I’m not buying this team unless you guys give me a three-year contract with you,” said Weese, who signed both Clarke and Mosely to three-year deals. “Because they were the integral part of that team and they were the ones running the day-to-day operations. They were the ones coordinating with the local community a lot.”

“It’s a fresh start,” Clarke said. “We’re changing a lot of things this year, like the colors of the team we’re going to change a little bit. There’s going to be a new look to the Wolves and I think people are going to like it.”

Mosely has been promoted and now is the Wolves’ director of hockey operations.

“Clarkie was telling me that the team was going to be sold and didn’t know what the future was going to be,” said Mosley, who is retired from the U.S. Army. “And I said, ‘let me speak to Tyler, I know he’s a good businessman and he likes to reinvest his profits.’ And really it’s a great situation, it’s a team I believe in and with him here it’s a winning combination.”

Weese is the latest local owner of the Watertown franchise, which dates back to 2014 when a local ownership group purchased the team. After the team was dormant the next season while renovations were being made to Watertown Municipal Arena, the franchise was then sold after the 2016-17 season to league commissioner Don Kirnan.

Johansson, a business entrepreneur who resides in Rochester and owns the FPHL’s Binghamton Black Bears, went on to purchase the Wolves franchise in 2020.

Weese wishes Johansson well, but believes improvements can made to the franchise, such as adding to the fan experience on game nights.

“And I’m full-time local, whereas Andreas wasn’t,” Weese said. “He wasn’t here as much as I’m going to be. But he did a good job, he formed a championship team. And we’re going to take it even further.”

Also, with Weese and Mosely both retired military veterans who served on Fort Drum, each are excited about the potential of tapping into the base’s population to recruit new fans.

“It’s huge,” said Weese, who served in the U.S. Air Force. “It’s nice for me and Curtis because we’re both veterans, so we have kind of the keys (to the base). So we can go there and talk to our old commanders, our old squadrons, our old battalions ... and get them engaged with this.”

Weese said they hope to expand promotional nights, such as honoring first responders, as well as coming up with new ideas to honor the military.

Mosely said he believes the league will be expanding to 10 teams, with the return of Elmira, as well as the addition of a team in Detroit, and in Biloxi, Miss. The new team in Mississippi gives the league three teams in the Southeast, including North Carolina’s Carolina Thunderbirds and Georgia’s Columbus River Dragons.

Already showing his commitment to the Wolves team, Weese is planning to fly the Wolves to games in these cities, rather than relying on the team taking a bus.

“(Clark’s) team was not treated as well as some other teams in this league for their respective markets and they stuck together,” Weese said. “They had a hell of a season and that shows a lot, especially with Brent’s leadership and management to keep the boys together. The bus would break down a lot, those road trips aren’t easy and they played their (butts) off. So I at least owe them next season the ability to take care of them and give them what they need.”

Weese also said he didn’t necessarily purchase the Wolves to make a profit, but has loftier aims.

“My biggest goal with this is I’m not really doing this to extract financials out of the team,” Weese said. “I want to be able to put back in and just make it better for everybody involved. And I’m patient with it, I don’t need the income.”

Weese, who is a native of West Virginia, is a lifetime hockey fan, as he grew up as a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, then led by Hall of Famer Mario Lemeieux.

He likes what he sees in the Wolves team, and a high-flying squad that’s also hard-working and blue-collar style of play.

“It’s very entertaining, it’s fun to watch those boys play,” Weese said. “Because it’s high-level hockey and they’re passionate about what they do, and they play hard and they’re loyal to each other as a team.”

Weese also said that several players are coming back to the team for next season, including team captain Justin MacDonald, as well as defenseman Justin Coachman, who is a fan favorite with his rugged play.

“They’re great and obviously we’re not keeping all of them for next year, a few of them are leaving,” Weese said. “J-Mac’s coming back, I’ve already spoken to him, that’s important and Brent can obviously build a great team.”

As far as the Wolves’ visit to The Roxy the night they won their latest championship, Weese couldn’t attend as he was working that night. But he did watch the game, which was won in two overtimes by Watertown in the longest game in league history, at the bar via a live stream.

“I know when we were watching the championship game, we had 50 people out here and 40 of them didn’t even know the Wolves existed,” Weese added. “And by the end of the game they were all cheering, they all got into it. And then the team came out here and they met me and it was just a good experience.”